Apple Hasn't Done Enough To Address Antitrust Concerns, Says Klobuchar As Lawmakers Remain Adamant On Overhaul

Apple Inc AAPL has taken small steps but not done enough to address the antitrust concerns amid rising global scrutiny, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

What Happened: Unconvinced with Apple’s steps, the U.S. lawmakers are moving forward with legislation to change the way the Cupertino, California-based company runs its App Store.

“There is growing momentum to pass the Open App Markets Act to finally address Apple and Google’s twin monopolies, and I will continue working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get it done,” Klobuchar said.

See Also: Apple Will Let App Developers Tell Users About Ways To Pay Them Outside Of Its Ecosystem In Rare Move

Klobuchar said she believes there is a growing momentum to pass the Open App Markets Act to address Apple and Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google’s twin monopolies.

As per the Bloomberg report, which cited data from Sensor Tower, 59% of app downloads in the U.S. last year were on Apple’s App Store, and 41% were on Google Play.

Why It Matters: Klobuchar's comments come after Apple faced similar criticism from Spotify Technology SA SPOT CEO Daniel Ek and Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney — two executives who have often rapped up the tech giant over anti-competitive practices.

Both executives dubbed Apple's move to let app developers — with the exception of gaming apps — process payments outside of its App Store as insufficient.

Apple should open up iOS on the basis of hardware, stores, payments, and services each competing individually on their merits.

Instead, they're running a literally day-by-day recalculation of divide-and-conquer in hopes of getting away with most of their tying practices. https://t.co/2L9n7EvSo0

— Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 2, 2021

This is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't solve the problem. App developers want clear, fair rules that apply to all apps. Our goal is to restore competition once and for all, not one arbitrary, self-serving step at a time. We will continue to push for a real solution https://t.co/vzIoBpZQr1

— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) September 2, 2021 

Price Action: Apple shares closed 1.55% higher at $156.69 on Wednesday.

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